Small food producers to get funding from EU
Mr Byrne, the commissioner for health and consumer protection, said reforms to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) agreed earlier this year would provide significant support to small food producers.
This support would be in return for adopting higher standards concerning the environment, public health, animal health and animal welfare.
Mr Byrne said the EU was aware of the difficulties faced by small producers in getting their businesses off the ground and recognised that complying with EU legislation was a major challenge.
He said flexibility was built into the new proposals, but this flexibility was conditional on maintaining an acceptable overall level of food safety, which was not negotiable. This was good news for small business in Ireland, Mr Byrne said.
Under new EU proposals, food operators will bear prime responsibility for food they produce. Mr Byrne said the proposals took great care to avoid stifling small, traditional food producers who did not have the resources necessary to meet strict new guidelines.
Aid levels will take account of the cost of meeting new obligations. The support package was proof that the EU Commission was in touch with realities on the ground, said Mr Byrne.
Mr Byrne was speaking at the Small Food Producers Forum in Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Other speakers included Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs minister Eamon Ó Cuiv and the former chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Pat Wall.
Mr Byrne said rural development policy at EU level looked to achieve sustainable development and was not simply a tool to top up payments to farmers under the CAP.
He said rural economies would need to diversify beyond farming to survive and that enterprise development, marketing local or regional brands and the increased use of technology would determine the competitiveness of rural economies in the future.
